Supporting Mental Health Initiatives in the Ithaca Community

Month: April 2017

Dr. Susan J. Noonan, author of When Someone You Know Has Depression: Words to Say and Things to Do, will be the featured guest speaker at a “Readings on Mental Health” event on April 30 sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County and hosted by Buffalo Street Books.

Noonan’s latest book is a concise and practical guide to caring for someone who has depression or bipolar disorder, offering specific suggestions for what to say or do to cope with impaired thinking and fluctuating moods. The book contains chapters on mood disorders, signs of depression, support and communication strategies, finding professional help, and caring for caregivers.

When Someone You Know Has Depression, a companion volume to Noonan’s 2013 book Managing Your Depression: What You Can Do to Feel Better, draws on evidence-based medical information as well as her own first-hand experience of living with a mood disorder. As a physician she has treated, supported, and educated those living with and those caring for a person who has a mood disorder. Noonan is a Certified Peer Specialist at McLean Hospital and a consultant to Massachusetts General Hospital and CliGnosis.

Noonan’s appearance launches “Readings on Mental Health,” a 2017 series featuring authors of books on mental health topics made possible by a grant from The Sophie Fund.

The new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why is generating alarm among many mental health professionals and suicide prevention experts, who are concerned about the risks of glamorizing suicide and the possibility of contagion.

Netflix kicked up a controversy with the series released on March 31 about a high school junior named Hannah who takes her own life. The series received a 91 percent critics approval rating and an 88 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised the cast’s performances and the “authentic,” “sensitive,” and “hard hitting” portrayal of teenager angst.

However, 13 Reasons Why needs a warning label. The National Association of School Psychologists cautions that the series should not be viewed by vulnerable young people who experience any degree of suicidal ideation. NASP warns:

“Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the characters and/or develop revenge fantasies. They may easily identify with the experiences portrayed and recognize both the intentional and unintentional effects on the central character. Unfortunately, adult characters in the show, including the second school counselor who inadequately addresses Hannah’s pleas for help, do not inspire a sense of trust or ability to help.”

NASP has problems with the accuracy of how mental illness and suicide are portrayed in the series. For example, it is concerned that the series does not emphasize that common among most suicide deaths is the presence of treatable mental illnesses. And that suicide is not the simple consequence of stressors or coping challenges, but rather, it is most typically a combined result of treatable mental illnesses and overwhelming or intolerable stressors.

Despite the strong misgivings, some see the widespread publicity around 13 Reason Why as an opportunity at least to spread greater awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. NASP says that the controversy is an “opportunity to better understand young people’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings,” educate parents, teachers, and students alike about suicide risk warning signs, and reinforce the message that suicide is not a solution to problems.

NASP advises that school psychologists and other school-employed mental health professionals can assist stakeholders such as school administrators, parents, and teachers to engage in supportive conversations with students as well as provide resources and offer expertise in preventing harmful behaviors. NASP published “Considerations for Educators,” guidance on 13 Reasons Why. Download it here.

Experts say if you’re thinking about the safest and best way to lead a discussion with teens about 13 Reasons Why and suicide, read the tip sheet co-authored by Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) and the JED Foundation. Click here to download the tip sheet.

Some recommended reading from experts on the subject of suicide contagion:

[If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.]

“Once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club.” So says Prince Harry, 32, who has opened up in a British newspaper podcast interview about his mental health struggles and how he is dealing with them.

Harry spent 10 years in the British Armed Forces, including two operational tours in Afghanistan where he commanded Apache helicopters, and achieved the rank of captain. None of his military training and experiences, however, prepared him for the severe emotional challenges he faced due to the tragic death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997 when he was just 12 years of age.

In an interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Harry revealed that he sought professional counseling after two years of “total chaos” in his late twenties. He described how he only began to address his grief at age 28 after feeling “on the verge of punching someone” and experiencing anxiety during royal engagements. He says he is now in a “good place.” He credits his elder brother, Prince William, for being a “huge support.”

Excerpts from the interview with Bryony Gordan’s “Mad World” podcast this week:

“I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well.

“I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.

“The experience I have had is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club.

“My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help?

“[I thought] it’s only going to make you sad, it’s not going to bring her back.

“So from an emotional side, I was like ‘right, don’t ever let your emotions be part of anything.’

“So I was a typical 20, 25, 28-year-old running around going ‘life is great,’ or ‘life is fine’ and that was exactly it.

“And then [I] started to have a few conversations and actually all of a sudden, all of this grief that I have never processed started to come to the forefront and I was like, there is actually a lot of stuff here that I need to deal with.

“It’s all about timing. And for me personally, my brother, you know, bless him, he was a huge support to me. He kept saying this is not right, this is not normal, you need to talk to [someone] about stuff, it’s OK.

“The timing wasn’t right. You need to feel it in yourself, you need to find the right person to talk to as well.

“I can’t encourage people enough to just have that conversation because you will be surprised firstly, how much support you get and secondly, how many people literally are longing for you to come out.”

British mental health experts praised Harry for speaking up so openly about seeking professional help for his mental health struggles. Sir Simon Wessely, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, went so far as to say that the prince had achieved more in communicating mental health issues in the 25-minute podcast than Wessely had in a 25-year career.

Since retiring from the armed forces in 2015, Harry devotes much of his time to charity work. He is involved with Heads Together, which brings together The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in partnership with charities tackling stigma, raising awareness, and providing help for people with mental health challenges. He also focuses on the welfare of servicemen and women, championing developmental opportunities for hard to reach children, and African conservation. In 2014, Harry created the Invictus Games, an international adaptive sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.

Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center New York

The call to action, known as The Watershed Declaration, was adopted by acclamation at the close of a meeting of leaders from Tompkins County, the City of Ithaca, non-profit organizations, and the campuses of Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College.

The Watershed Declaration stated as follows:

“We the assembled mental health stakeholders of the greater Ithaca community and Tompkins County recognize suicide as a serious public health concern. Today we renew our commitment to suicide prevention and pledge to intensify efforts toward saving lives and bringing hope to those struggling with suicide thoughts or affected by suicide loss.”

Lee-Ellen Marvin, executive director of the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in Ithaca, praised the call to action. “I was excited and moved to see leaders from different parts of our social service community together in one room, thinking about and committing to suicide prevention,” she said. “There is indeed a public health crisis, and the way to prevent suicide is with awareness, vigilance, and the willingness of all parts of society to commit to this effort.”

Addressing the gathering at The Watershed in Ithaca, Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center New York, announced plans to convene a “key stakeholders” meeting in June with the aim of establishing a suicide prevention coalition in Tompkins County.

Lloyd-Lester explained that suicide is increasingly seen as a public health problem rather than just an issue to be handled by an individual and their therapist.

“Operationally, that means we can all play a role in helping individuals who might be struggling with thoughts of suicide, to help keep them safe,” said Lloyd-Lester. “Seeing the folks here today it is really reflective of this idea that suicide is everybody’s business. That is the mantra that the state talks about: suicide prevention is everybody’s business.”

Sharon MacDougall, Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health Services in Tompkins County, welcomed the state’s initiative. “Suicide prevention efforts in Tompkins County are strong and need collaboration among all our agencies, providers, and groups like The Sophie Fund,” she said. “A Suicide Prevention Coalition will help bring these efforts together in close collaboration—providing a unified and passionate Tompkins County voice advocating zero suicides in our county.”

Monday’s meeting was organized by The Sophie Fund, which advocates for improved mental health for young people in the greater Ithaca area.

Stay tuned for announcements about the series from the Mental Health Association and Buffalo Street Books.

Susan Hack, a donor advisor of The Sophie Fund, commented: “We’re thrilled and grateful to the Mental Health Association and Buffalo Street Books for developing this book series, which we are sure will stimulate important discussions about the many mental health issues affecting the greater Ithaca community. The Sophie Fund is honored to work with these committed partners.”